Austin
General Information Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Central Texas, it is 15th-largest in the United States with a population of 757,688. It became the capital of Texas in 1839, and was renamed after ' the father of Texas', Stephen F. Austin. Originally, the town was called Waterloo.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas Ethnicity/ Demographics White Americans make up 63.7% ofthe population, while African Americans make up 8.5%. The percentage af Asian Americans is 5.6%, while other races' is 19.5%. 34.2% of the population is Hispanic or Latino. In 2000, The population density was 2,610.4 people per square mile (1,007.9/km²). As far as the age of the population is concerned, the median of the city is four years younger than that of the U.S. 44% of the whole population is between the age of 18 and 44 (as opposed to the national 37%).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas Below you can examine the population density of the town.http://www.austinchamber.com/DoBusiness/GreaterAustinProfile/population.html Incomes The city is an important, major center of technology. A large portion of the city's incomes come from global technological firms and a strong network of independent, locally-owned firms and organizations. In the future, Austin might also be one of the centers of biotechcompanies. About 85 companies from this industry are based in Austin. The city was ranked by the Milken Institute as the #12 biotech and life science center in the United States. In 2000, the median income for a household was $42,689, and the median income for a family was $54,091.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas Biggest Employers The biggest employers in Austion are high-tech companies such as3M, Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Google, AMD, Applied Materials, Cirrus Logic, Cisco Systems, eBay/PayPal, Hoover's, Intel Corporation, National Instruments, Samsung Group, Silicon Laboratories, Sun Microsystems and United Devices. Other employers include Austin Independent School District, the City of Austin, Dell, the United States Federal Government, Freescale Semiconductor, IBM, St. David's Healthcare Partnership, Seton Healthcare Network, the State of Texas, Texas State University-San Marcos, and the University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas Architecture Iconic structures of the city include: Pennybacker Bridge or the "360 Bridge", crosses Lake Austin. The Austin City Hall, built of Texas limestone. The Texas State Capitol, the largest state capitol building in the United States. The University of Texas Tower Night-Life Austin has several great places to go out to. Here's a short list of a ew examples. *You can always find a nightclub which suits you on the 6th Street, the center of the city's music life. Austin is, after all, 'The Live Music Capital of the World', as they say. Take a look at the location of 6th street's entertainment area on the map along with other useful sights/places highlighted here. *Alamo Drafthouse - a unique combination of a movie theatre and a restaurant - Alamo Drafthouses in Austin *Sports Bars - dine, drink, and watch the game! *Austin has many great places to eat at. Look for the one which suits you best here. *You can choose from a couple of ideas where to take your date in Austin here. *If you want to know 'what Austin does', go to Austin 360 - all the information you need about the current wheather, events and possibilities of entertainment, rectreation, bars and meals. Education The University of Texas, a public research university, was founded in Austin in 1883, and is located near the State Capitol. It offers 170 graduate degrees, and contains 16 collages alongside two academic unitshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas: *Cockrell School of Engineering *College of Communication *College of Education *College of Fine Arts *College of Liberal Arts *College of Natural Sciences *College of Pharmacy *Continuing Education *Graduate Studies *Jackson School of Geosciences *LBJ School of Public Affairs *McCombs School of Business *School of Architecture *School of Information *School of Law *School of Nursing *School of Social Work *School of Undergraduate Studies Below you can examine the demographics of the student bodyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_at_Austin. Sports Teams While Austin is the biggest city in the U.S. which doesn't have a franchise in major pro sports leagues, the citizens can cheer for collage teams such as the Texas Longhorns of The University of Texas a football and a baseball team under the same name, having won a Division Championship in the 2005-2006 season respectively. The city also has a hockey team, the Austin Ice Bats and a professional soccer team, The Austin Aztex FC. Travelling Besides being the most bike-friendly city in Texas, public transportaion is organized, relying mainly on bus lines, and is looking to expand through establishing rail- and streetcar lines. The city has its own commercial airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Travelling outside the city is facilitated by several U.S. Highways and Interstates. City Life Podcast If you would like a periodical update regarding issues concerning the city and the state, visit The DOT Show. Issues Bicyclist complaints Although Austin is declared the most bike-riendly city in Texas, there seems to be a problem in the cicling community.The web page of BicycleAustin states that 'Police don't take complaints about harrassment by motorists seriously, and rarely investigate such complaints.' Fair Housing The findings presented in the 'Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing 2009' the following problems were discovered: *In 2008, more than half of all fair housing complaints in Austin were regarding disability status. Familial and racial discrimination were the next more prevalent types of fair housing concerns experienced in Austin. *During the 2008 fiscal year, the City's fair housing office received and investigated 100 complaints. Fifteen resulted in filing complaints with HUD. From these, 30 were conciliated, and the remaining cases were determined to be no cause. *The results of a telephone and online survey indicated that the majority of respondents who felt they had been discriminated against did not take action. Six to ten percent filed an official complaint.http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/housing/fairhousing.htm Animal Issues Austin seems to be keen on helping animals - as one can see from the Austin Chronicle's article entitled City Hall Hustle: The Animal Kingdom. While 90% of rescued dogs and kitten survive, the City Council looks to approve $12 million for a new animal center. The citizens seem to support this idea, athough a quick decision would be necessary to save money which slips through the city's metaphorical hands due to bureaucracy.9